Neon and Turquoise

Here’s the deal.  It’s Friday, it’s summertime and I’m only working half a day today.  So, yep, Captain Casual strikes again:

But, how awesome is this necklace with this neon top? 

For today's possibly-overly-casual look, I paired my beloved beaded necklace (rummaged) with a neon tank (J. Crew – thrifted) layered over a white tank (Target), with clam diggers (made by me from Gap Long and Lean jeans) and the same metallic cuff (thrifted) and sandals (Lovely People via Ideeli) I wore yesterday.

I’ve said before that this necklace goes with everything and I think today’s pairing settles it.  I love this necklace anyway, but am just thrilled with how it looks with neon and white.  I’m also pretty happy with my self-cut clam diggers.  I love cut-offs for the summer, but I can’t say that I love them on me.  But, when I saw Angie of You Look Fab’s clam diggers, I thought that might be something that would work for me.  And I think they do work – I wore these all last weekend and will probably wear them much of this weekend as well.

Because?  This weekend?  This is the weekend that I’m finally, finally getting over to the coast.  Somehow it turns out that I haven’t been there all summer.  But, we’re going over tomorrow and I’m super excited and I’ll take lots of pictures (probably in these same pants).

Today’s Takeaway?  Turquoise, like orange, really does go with everything.

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Gracey

More Lazy Dressing

I slept horribly last night and as a result I seriously struggled with what to wear today.  Because I didn’t have the mental acuity to come up with anything creative I went the lazy route once again:

While yesterday I couldn't be bothered with more than a dress, today I wore two whole pieces (your're welcome).  I layered an embellished tank (Design History via Ross) over a maxi dress (thrifted), added metallic sandals (Lovely People via Ideeli) and a metallic cuff (thrifted) and called it a day.  Is it lazy?  You bet your sweet bippy it is.  But, it’s also comfortable and sometimes a girl just can’t manage anything more than some lazy comfort.

Today’s Takeaway?  Shiny accessories totally make lazy outfits work-appropriate (Within reason, folks.  Lawyers probably won't be distracted by shiny stuff).

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Bright Stripes and Cognac

I was running late this morning so I threw on the easiest thing I could find:

For the summer, there is nothing I like better than a bright, summery dress.  They’re easy and they don’t take a lot of styling to look good.  Today I paired my striped vintage dress (thrifted) with a braided cognac belt (thrifted), cognac sandals (Jeffrey Campbell via Nordstrom) and gold bangles (Nordstrom).  I wore it last time with a bright fuchsia belt and nude platforms, but I think I might like it even better with the cognac accessories.

Oddly enough, I used to not like dresses because I thought they were boring.  I preferred skirts because they felt more versatile to me.  I think that skirts are probably more versatile – they can look completely different paired with different tops – but I think I might prefer dresses for how easy they are.  While it’s nice to have the option to change the look of your skirt with different tops, sometimes it’s just nicer not to have to think too hard about getting dressed.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Do you prefer dresses or skirts?

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

EBEW: Mixin’ It Up

Today was Everybody, Everywear’s Mixed Print Challenge and it made me a little nervous.  I have mixed prints before (here and here), but it’s definitely not a style that comes naturally to me, so I decided to keep it simple today:



I mixed an abstract floral skirt (Fossil via Goodwill) with a striped three-quarters sleeve tee (Target), braided cognac belt (thrifted) and my oft-worn platform sandals (MRKT via DSW). 

For my money, stripes are one of the easiest patterns to mix as they seem to work well with other graphic prints (such as polka dots) but also with more organic prints such as florals.  So, pairing this striped tee with the abstract floral skirt didn’t take a lot of thought (I don’t have a lot of thoughts to spare lately).  It was also a pretty easy pairing because both pieces have at least one color in common; in this case the navy blue.  Although I’ve mixed pieces that didn’t have common colors, I find it easier if they do.

Today’s Takeaway: There is all sort of advice out there on how best to mix patterns, but I’d say the real trick is confidence.  If you don’t believe you’re rocking an outfit, no one else will either (and really, this is pretty much true for any outfit, not just pattern mixing).

Have a happy Tuesday, Everyone; and make sure you visit Everybody, Everywear for more looks featuring mixed prints!

Gracey

P.S. No, I did not ride my bike in this little-ass skirt.  I drove in today so as not to be arrested for indecent exposure.

Cheering Cherry* and Magenta

It’s been fairly overcast the last few mornings before warming up to the 80s.  Today was no exception and it even misted a little bit on my ride in.  When the weather is gloomy, I often like to wear bright, cheerful colors and today was no exception:

Last week Sal posted a link to this post about this fall’s top color trends.  They include my favorite cobalt, my beloved pumpkin orange and cherry and magenta.  The magenta was sort of surprising to me; one, because it doesn’t seem like fall and two because it reminds me of the 90s.  Which isn’t so much a reason not to be on board with something, but sometimes that’s what happens.

The cherry I was absolutely on board with, having already identified a couple of cherry red items I’d like to find for fall.  One of which was a cardigan and I found this one* (Beatrix Ost) last week on the sale rack at Nordstrom.  I decided to wear it today with my magenta dress (Target), a cherry, studded belt (thrifted) and cognac sandals. 

*While I truly did think this cardigan was red (damn your soft lighting, Nordstrom) when I bought it and even when I put it on, I think Lyddie is right, this is more coral than cherry.  While I do love cherry, for fall and otherwise, I apparently love coral more.

Although I was a little bit hesitant about magenta for fall, I can see how both of these colors will transition nicely from bright summery combinations to more autumn-appropriate outfits when paired with more neutral fall shades.  It’s like magic!

Today’s Takeaway?  Cherry is cheery, magenta is magical but orange is irresistable.  And all make for fabulous transitional colors.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey

P.S. My date on Friday was absolutely wonderful!  We ended up having dinner in; we listened to jazz, had a bottle of wine and talked about everything – it was just perfect!

P.P.S. Holy crackers, folks, I have a hundred followers!  I have no idea how that happened, but thank you all so much for reading and presumably for laughing at both my jokes and my bad puns.  I'm very flattered and very grateful to all of you.

*ETA